This study aimed to screen potential genes related to
thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (
TAO) and get a further understanding about the pathogenesis of this disease. GSE9340 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus, including eight thyroid tissue samples from
hyperthyroid patients without
TAO and ten ones from
hyperthyroid patients with
TAO. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by the linear models for microarray data package. And their potential functions were predicted by Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analyses. Furthermore,
protein-
protein interaction (PPI) was obtained from the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes database, and the PPI network was visualized with Cytoscape. Then, module analysis was performed by the Molecular Complex Detection analysis. Additionally, the potential pathway interactions were identified by Latent Pathway Identification Analysis. Totally, 511 upregulated and 507 downregulated DEGs in
TAO were screened. Some DEGs (e.g., UBE2C) were related to cell cycle, and DEGs encoding
proteasome (e.g., PSMA1, PSMC5, PSMC4, and PSMD1) were related to negative regulation of
ubiquitin-protein ligase activity. Several upregulated DEGs encoding
signal recognition particle (e.g., SRP14, SRP54, and SRP9) were found to be enriched in
protein export pathway. Furthermore, some pathways (e.g., ribosome and
protein export) had interactions. The DEGs related to cell cycle (e.g., UBE2C), DEGs encoding
proteasome (e.g., PSMA1, PSMC5, PSMC4, and PSMD1) and
signal recognition particle (e.g., SRP14, SRP54, and SRP9), as well as pathways of ribosome,
protein export and
retinol metabolism, might play key roles in the development of
TAO.